Auramarina's Story: The 74th Hunger Games
by RomanticCreator
Summary: Another "Aury and Finnick" story. : This story tells what is happening in their lives as Katniss and Peeta compete in the Hunger Games. Aury and Finnick mentor their tributes, while keeping a close eye on the District 12 tributes as well, feeling that they both may be crucial to the rebellion against Snow that they and many other have been planning for the past six years. Enjoy!
1. The 74th Hunger Games

**A/N:**

**So I'm back with another Hunger Games story. :) As some of you may have already known, I did a lot of work with my OC named Auramarina Marx. If you didn't know that, well, now you know. And before reading this, I suggest that you take a look at my previous story titled "Auramarina's Story" (classy name, right?). It's just a suggestion, but it would probably help if you read maybe five chapters before reading this, just so you can get a feel for Auramarina's personality and what she's all about. **

**Anyway, I hope you guys like this. :) It's a sort of comeback for my Hunger Games stories, since I've once again become utterly obsessed with the books after watching the movie on DVD. **

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It's been around seven years since I made it out of the 67th Hunger Games, and personally, I'm surprised that Snow hasn't tried to have me executed. After all, I did show him up. Rather, Finnick showed him up by saving me every time he tried to have me killed in that arena. My hate for Snow had never subsided since then.

Seven years with the famous Finnick Odair, and we still haven't gotten married or engaged or anything lovey dovey like that. Not that it bothers me. I could care less about a stupid piece of paper that basically just says, "Now, you are bonded to this person forever". Please. I have more important things to worry about. Like this: The 74th Hunger Games are here, and, lucky for me, I've been chosen to mentor.

I've mentored tributes before. But not voluntarily. Basically, if Mags or Cliona- previous female victors before me- don't feel like mentoring, I have to.

I met Cliona about six years ago, a few months after Finnick and I made it out of Snow's twisted second desert arena. She's a pretty woman in her mid-thirties with medium length pin-straight reddish-brown hair and blue-gray eyes that never cease the remind me of a storm cloud. She's not exactly "caring", but she isn't just plain hostile either. Let's just say, she's one of a kind.

Another victor I had never met until six years ago was a man named Delmar. Tall, heavily built, with jet black hair and pale green eyes that could kill you in an instant. However, his intimidating appearance is actually almost an exact parallel to his personality. Until then, I had never met anyone more father-like than Delmar Alta.

Now, one victor had kept a solid place in my head. Caspian Naunet. He was about the closest thing to "obsessed with himself" as I had seen in a while. He had blonde hair, like me, and green eyes, which were close in comparison to Finnick's, but still were nowhere near as charming. Caspian thinks he's such a looker, and an extreme lady killer. But, honestly, he was nothing more than a tool. And I'm sure I'm not the only one that would agree with the statement, "Caspian Naunet is almost nothing compared to Finnick Odair".

Unfortunately for me, none of those victors wanted to mentor this year. So now, I'm stuck with mentoring, a task I never really enjoyed. But I have a feeling that things might be different. I think we might have a real show this year.


	2. Heron's Visit

"Hey, little Aury."

I turn my head and grin ear to ear as I see my older brother Heron saunter into the room, holding his new son, whom he has appropriately named Flavian, for his seemingly pure yellow hair. He hugs me with one arm as best he can and hands me baby Flavian.

"How have you been?" Heron asks, brushing his arms free of the cotton left behind from his baby's gray blanket.

"I've been fine," I say honestly, hugging Flavian tighter. "What about you? How are you and Kendra doing?"

"Ugh," he groans, rubbing his face with his hands. "I'm not going to lie, it's been rough with her. She keeps saying how she wishes we could live here in the Victor's Village with you. _And _I've been having more and more trouble not losing my temper with that irritating old fat guy that I have to work for."

"Well, you know, you and Kendra are always welcome to move in here," I tell him. "It gets pretty lonely here, believe it or not." I hand Flavian back to him and lean back against the window overlooking District 4.

"Really?" Heron asks, tickling Flavian's stomach. "Doesn't Finnick come by to visit?"

"Yeah," I shrug. "But having Finnick visit isn't the same as having family visit."

"Eh, true," he says.

I turn around and look out the window. I'm five stories up, so of course, I can see almost everything in District 4. I can't help but suppress a laugh as I watch a boy with rust colored hair follow a little blonde girl as she walks down the path. And then, I see Kendra, with her brown hair in a neat bun, strolling down towards the Victor's Village.

"Uh oh," I sigh.

"What?" Heron asks.

"Uh, I think Kendra is coming."

I hear Heron let out a long sigh- maybe it was a groan- as he steps up next to me to peer out the window. "Well, I was about to go anyway," he says. I hug him goodbye. "I'll see you later, okay?"

"Yep," I say with a smile.

He walks toward the door and stops in the doorway. "Oh," he says. "And Happy Hunger Games."

I grin half-heartedly. "And may the odds be ever in your favor," I reply in the ridiculous Capitol accent, curtseying like I've watched Bella Blume do so many times.

Heron grins at me one last time and leaves, cooing to Flavian who is making a bunch of unintelligible baby noises. As soon as he leaves, I slam my head against the metal windowsill. Reaping day. I hate it. But at least I don't have to stand in the crowd and hold my breath like I used to. Now, I sit on the platform with Finnick and the rest of the victors. In a way, the thought brings comfort to me. But in the same way, it kills me to have to watch another boy and girl be reaped and thrown to their death.

I walk down the long white corridor to my room. I open the door and quickly slip on my reserved Reaping Day outfit; a silky dress that hangs below my knees. It's blue. Pale blue, which is basically my signature color by now. I wash my face, pull my hair up into a high ponytail, and begin the short journey to the district circle.


	3. The Reaping

I enter the Justice Building to meet with the other victors before the actual reaping takes place. Apparently, I'm the last one to arrive, because I see Cliona giving me a somewhat hateful look.

"Sorry," I say sheepishly. "My brother…came to visit…and-"

"Don't worry about it, Aury," Mags says. "Come and sit. We were just discussing some things."

"Like what?" I ask as I take a reluctant seat between Cliona and Caspian. "Like how the rest of you don't want to mentor this year, so you're going to make _me _do it?"

"Uh, yeah," Cliona says, crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair. "You about got it, princess."

I scoff at her and shake my head. "I don't know why I have to, anyway," I continue. "I'm not even a legitimate victor."

"Got that right," Cliona comments again. "I don't even think you should be allowed to stay in the Victor's Village, seeing as you didn't really escape that arena. You were taken from it."

"Cliona, please, be nice." I hear the soft voice of Annie Cresta speak. Annie and I had actually known each other for quite some time before I competed in the 67th Games. We were more like acquaintances than friends, but now, we were actually very close. And for some reason, I felt a bit protective of the poor mad girl. I guess she felt the same way about me.

"Cliona," I hear Mags say assertively. For an old woman in her eighties, she sure has a voice. "If any one of us here is a victor, it's Aury. She's been in two arenas, almost killed on multiple occasions, actually been killed more than once, _and _she's only twenty one. So shut it."

"Mags is right," Caspian says steadily. "Aury is the bravest of us all." I turn my head to see him grinning at me, trying to be seductive. I roll my eyes- not out of amusement, but out of annoyance- and focus my attention back to Cliona.

"Alright, fine," she hisses.

"Now, back to business," Mags says. "Aury, sorry, but, you're mentoring this year."

"Joy," I exclaim sarcastically.

"Along with Finnick," she finishes.

"Makes it a whole lot better, right?" I glance across the table and see Finnick grinning at me. I can't help but grin back and nod.

"So, are you okay with that?" Mags asks.

"I guess," I shrug. "It could be worse." I look at Finnick and wink. He grins back seductively.

"Okay, then." Mags claps her wrinkly hands together. "Time to go."

I wait for the other victors to leave before approaching Finnick. "Hey," he greets.

"I don't want to mentor," I tell him straightforwardly. "And, no offense, just because you're mentoring with me, doesn't make it any better."

"Come on, Aury," he says easily. "You've done this before."

"Yeah, and I didn't enjoy it," I remind him. "Can't you just mentor alone?"

"Oh, what fun would that be?" he coos.

"Uh, it wasn't exactly fun before."

"You'll be fine. Just do what you always do. You have great mentoring skills."

"Might I remind you that none of my tributes have ever made it back?" I cross my arms.

"Neither did any of mine," he counters. I groan in frustration. "Come on." He takes my hand and we walk out of the Justice Building together.

As we step out into the light, he kisses my hand and takes his seat next to Mags. I smile and sit next to Annie.

"Hey, Annie," I say cautiously. "How are you?"

For some reason, she laughs. I laugh along, for her sake. "Fine," she replies absently. "Just fine. I'm not complaining."

"Good," I say. "Good."

Bella Blume mounts the stage, still looking as ridiculous as she ever has. She's sporting a bright yellow, puffy, frilly dress with a wig that's just as yellow. Her skin, however, looks as if she spent too much time in the sun and got horribly burned. I shake my head at her.

"Welcome, welcome," she says. "Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor." A few people in the audience cheer.

The film from the Capitol comes on. I don't bother to watch. When it's over, Bella trills about how wonderful it was, then dunks her hand into the girls' reaping ball. "Naomi Irvin!"


End file.
